Our Hedgerows

We are delighted to have a piece written about our hedgerows by Fiona Gomersall. 

“Over the years Jane and Roger Hulton-Harrop restored and re-instated long lengths of hedgerow throughout their farm. They will have planted hundreds of trees in the process, not only to strengthen the hedgerows but also to extend their woodlands.  These hedgerows act as strong ‘linear corridors’, allowing wildlife like insects and birds to move from place to place in safety to find food and mates.

Native species like hazel, holly, hawthorn, maple and blackthorn were planted along with spindle, guelder-rose, dogwood, oak, ash and beech.  Some of the hedgerows are very old and have other species like grey and goat willow, elder, black poplar, rowan, wych elm and sycamore growing amongst the more recently planted species.  The older hedgerows are also enriched by climbers and shrubby species like black bryony, bramble, honeysuckle, ivy and dog rose. These plants add colour in the form of flowers and fruit so, vital as food sources for our pollinators and birds.  Where these species are allowed to flower and fruit as a result of sensitive management, the hedgerows are alive in spring and summer with bird song and the humming of insects.  In the autumn activity continues as birds and small mammals feed off fruit, nuts and seeds produced by the diversity of these woody plants.

The well managed hedgerows, wide, dense and tall provide superb nesting habitat for small birds, many of which are in severe decline all over Shropshire.”

Our idea is to link up the existing hedgerows and woodland surrounding the field in the right-hand image. The red lines show where we would like to plant the new hedgerows.

For some of them, we will not need to put an additional fence up on the other side of the hedgerow because there won’t be any stock roaming. We are hoping to do this part of the project with support from The Woodland Trust’s MoreHedges Scheme.

However, where we do need to put up fencing i.e. between fields, we are planning to submit an application to the AONB’s Conservation Fund. This Fund focusses on supporting projects delivering practical conservation work on the ground to conserve and enhance the natural beauty, landscape, wildlife or heritage of the AONB.